


Choosing my clothes (to hang out with you)

by Little_Firestar84



Category: DCU (Comics), Green Lantern (Comics), Green Lantern - All Media Types, Green Lantern Corps (Comics), Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps (Comics)
Genre: Dating, F/M, First Dates, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-05 02:31:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11568486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Firestar84/pseuds/Little_Firestar84
Summary: “Since when do you care what you are wearing underneath your uniform?” Simon’s brother-in-law/ best friend looked at Simon's bed, filled with clothes as he was a woman. “Hang on. Did you finally ask Jess out? Please tell me you did. I’m kind of sick and tired of looking at you moping after her. Wait a sec- you told her you were taking her out, right?”He likes Jess. He is kind of sure Jess likes him, too. But having the balls to ask her out on a date... it's a whole other matter.





	Choosing my clothes (to hang out with you)

The League was having some kind of annual party at their newest headquarter, celebrating at the same time the survival to the latest crisis. Everyone was having fun, remembering the beginning of their careers, talking about everything and anything.

Everyone was having fun… except one person, whose stare could have killed.

“Geez, Simon, why don’t you tone it down? You’re worse than Batman at killing the mood…” Hal snickered, as he squeezed the younger Green Lantern’s shoulder; Simon only grunted something in response. Hal shook his head, chuckling shamelessly as he saw what his “student” was fixating on.

Jessica- Simon’s partner in the Green Lantern Corps- was talking with one of Batman’s former protégé, the (in)famous Red Hood, blushing like a school girl and laughing and smiling at what Hal was sure were awful jokes.

(There was just no way in hell that one of the Bat’s guys made decent jokes)

“And here I thought you’ve learnt something the last time…” Hal sighed, shaking his head. He felt a little bad, if he had to be honest; after all, not only had he been the one to drag Simon in this whole “Universe-saving” mess that had become their lives, as an expert of women (and on how to get them), he felt he needed to share his knowledge to this poor unfortunate soul.

“…last time I fought the First Lantern?” Simon asked, tentatively; he knew what Hal was talking about, but he wasn’t going to admit it. Yes, his family just loved his space-cop buddies, but having Jessica (his partner) around was one thing, having Hal or John was a whole other thing- it was like having your boss around…

Hal shook his head, messing a bit Simon’s short hair. “Actually, I was talking about all the time she liked to spend with Barry. And Bruce. She really, really, enjoyed their company, don’t you think?”

Simon just groaned, crossing his arms over his ample chest. “Baz, you know I’m right. You like her? Either you man up and tell her- which, trust me, she’ll appreciate- or you make your peace and stop being jealous every time a man talks with her. Jess’ getting better- one day she’ll be able to live her life like any other person, especially now that the man who killed her friends is behind bars.”

“Fine.” Simon hissed. In that moment, he decided that he liked Jess too much- liked too much having her around – to risk ruining their friendship and partnership. He would have learnt to behave and be okay with whoever she wanted to flirt with. 

… but then his eyes fell on the masked brunette being a little too close for comfort to his partner, and he finally understood Guy’s appeal for the Red Lanterns; seeing red could really be a force to be reckoned with. As Hal smirked, like a proud parent, he made his way to Jess, and he stood right before her- and before the Bat-Boy – at crossed arms, in silence, angry and yet majestic. 

“Simon!” Jessica cheerfully screamed, practically jumping in his arms; Simon felt like crying, or killing someone. Jess was such a beautiful person- filled with happiness and love and cheerfulness - and someone had dared to try and take that light away. Jess was the kind of person who made the world a better place by just being there, even without powers, and it was a shame that they had gotten so close to not have such a wonderful creature in their lives. 

“Simon, this is…” she started, but then she pouted when she saw Simon stopping her. 

“Red Hood. The guy who loves guns. Just out of curiosity, what does the Bat say about it?”

Red Hood simply chuckled. “Please. I only use tranquillizers, like, 98% of the time. What does he say about you, uh? Last time I checked, you’re the one who likes the _real_ bullets…”

Simon was going to say something in the line of _I don’t even need my ring to punch you, you asshole,_ but he decided against it. He didn’t like when Jess was mad with him- of disappointed by him.

“Ehy, Simon…” Jess suddenly said, shyly, leaning against a wall. “We still hanging out at your sister’s this evening?” 

“Uh?” Simon turned to look at her, and she saw her blushing- of a different kind of blush from what she had sported while talking with the Bat Boy. His heart suddenly went and exploded in his chest, as he guessed that that was Jess’ way of asking him out and wanting to be alone with him- him, and not Bat Boy.

She was serving him a chance in a silver platter, and he wasn’t going to lose it. Hal was right; he was supposed to learn from past mistakes, and besides, Jess seemed on board in seeing each other in a civilian way. Outside the uniform.

“Maybe…” He gulped down a mouthful of saliva, and suddenly found talking very hard. “I was thinking we could… get something to eat? Just the two of us?”

“Later?” She asked, lifting an eyebrow behind her mask.

“Sure?” Simon felt like slapping himself. He hated how unsure he felt. He knew that Jess didn’t need protecting- heck, she had saved him plenty of times, after all – but, she needed to know that she _could_ be protected. That he would make her feel, and be, safe- andnot only as his partner.

“Cool. See you later?” Jess simply shrug her shoulders, and then she went back to talk with a grinning Red Hood- who was sporting a cat that got the canary look, but Simon didn’t care. 

Smiling like an idiot, he went back to Hal, breathing out in relief. 

Yeah, Jess was talking with Red Hood. But, meanwhile, he was the one she was going to be having dinner with. 

Sort of. 

Unless he had forgotten to mention it was a date. Kinda…

“Since when do you care what you are wearing underneath your uniform?” Simon’s brother-in-law/ best friend looked quizzically at the Green Lantern, busy looking at himself in the mirror, his bed filled with clothes as he was a woman. “Hang on. Did you finally ask Jess out? Please tell me you did. I’m kind of sick and tired of looking at you moping after her.”

“I don’t…” Simon started, with indignity in his voice.

“Yeah, man, you do. If I weren’t such a good Muslim, I would have bet money with my wife about the time it took you to man out and ask her out.” Simon gulped down a mouthful of saliva, his eyes huge and a bit terrified. “You told her you were taking her out, right?” Nazir asked as he lifted an eyebrow.

“Yeah?” He absolutely hated how insecure he sounded when it came to Jess- a good 95% of his affirmations sounded like questions…

Nazir face-palmed himself and shook his head, then he went to Simon’s bed and retrieved some items. “White shirt. Black jacket. Jeans and sneakers. You want to look like you are trying and yet you are not trying too hard. Like it was a casual thing. 

“And it’s not a casual thing?”

Nazir hit him with his open palm on Simon’s naked back, laughing out loud. “Oh, man, just wait and see! I have to tell this one to your sister…” left Simon’s room and went looking for his wife, screaming at the top of his voice. “Oh, honey, you should hear this one! Your brother thinks that he and Jess have a causal thing going on!” 

Gasping, with tears in her eyes (she could be such a woman, sometimes) his beloved sister practically jumped in his arms; Simon would have loved to say something, but she was talking non-stop.

“Oh, and buy her flowers. Did you remember to? Not red roses- it could be too much. But nothing too simple, either… yellow roses, maybe? They mean that you are jealous when you see her with someone else. Hang on - you people hate yellow, right? Uhm… white, maybe? To imply the purity of your feelings for her? But she could believe that your feelings are platonic and not romantic in nature…”

“Why not an orchid?” He asked, not really knowing where it came from. (He actually did. Jess liked orchids. She had a couple in her apartment.)

“Oh, yes! Good idea! Nazir! Simon’s buying Jess flowers!”

Shaking his head- and scared that his sister would try and talk with him some more as soon as she had delivered the piece of information to her husband - Simon quickly put on the items chosen for him, and then decided on an abundance- but not too much- of aftershave; he gave a look at his ring, smiling a bit smug, then he suit up and flew out of the window.

“I just don’t understand why you can’t be a girl like me!” Sra sniffed as she looked at the collection of dresses and feminine clothes on her younger sister’s bed. 

Jess rolled her eyes, snorting, hands on her hips as her cat kept thanking her for those things on her bed- all items the feline was getting quickly very fond of.

“ _I am_ a girl, Sara.”

But Sara sighed, her eyes semi-closed. “No, Jess. You are _female_. As for feminine… that’s a whole other matter. I mean, you are even _a cop_ , for God’s sake.”

“I didn’t exactly enrolled on my own, sis…” Jess sighed as she picked between two fingers what she supposed had to be a bra- but looked like more a death trap conjured by Atrocitus himself, with the metal and the laces and all the other weird stuff. “Besides, why did you bring all this stuff?”

“Because, Jess, you may not remember- but women are supposed to look _nice_ when they go out on a date.” Sara sighed. She couldn’t get why her sister was being so dense. She always went out with Simon- always hang out with him- and yet she wasn’t even trying to get his attention. 

Not that she really had to- Sara wasn’t stupid, and had seen how the fellow lantern looked at her sister. But, she guessed that the guy needed some kind of encouragement- to know that Jess was thinking the same thing and there was a good chance of making it work.

(Besides, even if it didn’t worked out, what was the problem? There were, like, other four of five Erath Lanterns running around. It wasn’t like they couldn’t get a new partner…)

“But I’m not dating Simon! He is just stopping by and we are eating tacos here!”

Like so many other times before, Sara felt like strangling her beloved younger sister; she knew that Jess wasn’t the picture of femininity, she knew that she had always been a tom-boy, and she knew that she had been heavily traumatised (for lack of a better word). 

But sometimes, Jess was really dense. To not use worse words. Which Sara was tempted to.

Those two idiots liked each other and they were dating (minus the sex, Sara was positive). Why couldn’t they just accept it and move on and be happy and have pretty kids who were half Hispanic- half Lebanese?

“Well, if that’s what you like to tell yourself…” Sara sighed, pouting, pinching the bridge of her nose; suddenly, their little “altercation” was interrupted by the noise of someone knocking

Not ten minutes having left his sister’s apartment, Simon was knocking at Jess’ door, back in “human” clothes, the violet orchid in his arms; Jess opened him with a bright smile- and her worst pyjama.

“Ehy, Jess…”

“Simon?” She half-whispered as she stared at him, like she was seeing this man for the very first man; she tried to meet his chocolate eyes, but she couldn’t, as she suddenly found herself blushing, but lowering her gaze made thing just worse, as she saw what he had in his hands.

An Orchid.

A _Pink_ Orchid.

Like the ones she liked so much.

“Crap!” She hissed as she closed the door in his face, panicking, and running back to her room. She run past Sara, and closed the door at her back with such a strength it felt like the walls trembled.

Sara sighed, shaking her head, and went to look at the door, to see what had gotten her baby sister so worried and sent her in a frenzy- not that she didn’t have an idea- and when she opened the door, chuckling, she found, in fact, Simon at the other side, staring at the piece of wood like it was the abyss. 

“Hello, Simon.” She said as she took the orchid from his hands, thinking where it could go. She giggled like a school girl, sighing a bit dreamily as she saw the charming man right before her. “Well, I have to say, you cleaned up pretty nicely…”

“Thanks?” He asked. Simon was sweating, and despite having meet the worst of the worst as a superhero, having faced garbage like an ordinary man, he was positively scared.

Which was stupid. Because it wasn’t like he was brining Jess to the ball, or anything like that. 

“SARA!” Sara sighed, and shook her head like she was dealing with children when he sister screamed her name on top of her lungs. “I’ll be back in a sec, Simon. Now, make yourself at home. There’s some water and fruit juice… and I think some iced tea in the fridge!” 

“Now, what?” Sra asked as she opened the door to Jess’ bedroom; she had been sarcastic and a bit malicious until a second before, but as soon as she lifted her gaze and met Jess’ sad and panicking expression, she knew better.

“Crap.” She whispered under her breath, running at her sister’s side. “Jess, calm down. Remember, you are not your fear, your fear doesn’t possess you, you are a Green Lantern and…”

“Sara?” Jess took her sister for the shoulders, eye in the eye. “Look, my last date? It was with Ba… with The Flash, and we got possessed by those fear things. Which didn’t turn out too pretty. So, stop rambling and help me, will you? Pretty please? Because I haven’t had a decent date in years and that’s _Simon_ on the other side of the door, and we are friends and I don’t want to come too strong or…”

“Green.”

“What?” Jess stared at her sister open-mouthed, unable to say a sole other word. 

“Green. It’s your colour. Not because you are a Green Lantern- you really look good in it.”

“ok?” She said as she looked at her sister picking items up from wherever in her room. 

“Ok, so- Lacy Green top, cute, but not too flashy. Black pants, and maybe some heels… medium? Yeah, because there’s not so much height difference between you and Simon. A Scowl? Or maybe a jacket? No- Scowl’s better. Black, to get with the pants? Or do you prefer a skirt?”

“I’m a tomboy, Sis. I hate skirts…” Jess pouted. 

Like she was a doll, Jessica allowed her sister to do as she pleased; when, sometime later, she emerged from the cosmetic and perfumed fog, she looked in the mirror and found herself quite nice; she blushed, and her heart skipped a beat; she was going out on a date- and the last time (before Barry, but she didn’t really count that) she still had been a scholar.

“Hi.” She simply said as her sister pushed her before Simon; she was unable to look at him in the eyes- and besides, her sneakers were quite nice, too. 

“Ehy, Jess.” She heard the sweetness- and the smile, if possible- in Simon’s voice. “You look nice.”

“Uhm, thanks= I’m beginning to think Green may be my colour. Or so Sara says.” She was playing with her hair, biting her lips in a way that drove Simon crazy. It had happened before, of course- but with Jess all dressed up, well, it was different. It felt…. Real, and kissing her was suddenly within the realm of possibilities. 

“Jess?” He called her name out, an hand gently on her shoulder. “Look we don’t need to rush into anything, all right? If you’re not cool with it…”

“No, No, no…” she gasped, finally looking at him in the eyes- this man who had grown up so much since they’ve met- and rearranged a renegade lock of hair behind her ear. “Look, it’s just that, my last date? I’m pretty sure it was sometimes in high school. So, I’m kind of rusty.” 

Simon blushed too- something Jess wasn’t expected- and lazily scratched the back of his head. “If it can be of any comfort, it’s not like I had many dates while in prison…”

She smiled- really, really smiled, of that radiant smile of hers that erased all traces of fear from his life- and Simon couldn’t help but join in. “Look, I’m not even asking for a good night kiss, all right?”

She nodded, and gave him a small kiss on the cheek, leaving a gentle trace of pink behind; she took Simon’s hand in her own, interlaced their fingers and went for her door, leaning on him. 

Who knew. Maybe, making out on her couch could still be considered as “going slow…”

She really hoped it did.


End file.
